Va. Producers On Shaky Ground From Consumer Egg Scare

Virginia egg producers are still reeling from a one-two punch that kept many consumers away from their product in 1988, says a Virginia Cooperative Extension specialist.

"The egg industry is in a sorry state," says Paul Ruszler, Extension scientist specializing in commercial eggs. "We've gone through a considerable time of very poor prices."

The dip in demand for eggs can be traced to two major developments - public concern about cholesterol and some widely-publicized cases of salmonella poisoning.

Together, they have caused producers losses of up to $3 a bird, estimates C.J. Martin, owner of Brickland Breeders in Lunenburg County.

"This year was the worst in the history of the egg business - we've never lost this much money over this long a time," Martin says. "And it's not going to turn around over night."

While eggs have received some truthful publicity in connection to cholesterol and salmonella, some of the negative news has been unfair to the product, Ruszler says.

"People have gotten sick from salmonella poisoning - that's reality," he says, "and a few have died, but they were either elderly or infirm, people whose immunity systems couldn't handle it. The bacteria can grow in any animal product..."

A typical person's chances of eating an egg with the harmful bacteria is less than 1 in a million, Ruszler says.

But even if the bacteria does slip through tests and gets into eggs, cooking the eggs will kill it, says John Marcy, extension food scientist.

"The problem's gotten bad press in that all of a sudden, it's not safe to eat an egg - period," he says. "That's not the case. It's not completely safe to eat a raw egg, but if it is cooked top and bottom to the point where the yolk thickens but is not hard, it's safe. And any cooking past sunny side up will reduce the risk of salmonellosis."

The second worry about eggs has been cholesterol. Eggs, particularly the yolks, are high in cholesterol, but eggs may have gotten some unfair press in this area too, says Jo Anne Barton, Extension specialist in foods and nutrition.

"I think the cholesterol content of foods is probably not the most important factor influencing one's blood cholesterol level," she says. "Right now, studies show that only one-fourth to one-third of those diagnosed with high cholesterol are actually affected by the amount of cholesterol in their diets. So from that standpoint, eggs have gotten bad press."

In any case, Barton says, moderation is the best policy, which means there is no reason to eliminate eggs from the average diet.